I Block

I Blocks (Chinese: I型大廈)^[1] are a design of public housing in Hong Kong. It is mainly divided into three variants: Single I, Double I, and Triple I. Only a few estates currently have I blocks as of today. The existing blocks were built between 1981 and 1983.

Mei Fung House of Mei Lam Estate.

Sun Tin Wai Estate.

Variants

The I block can be divided into three variants: Single I, Double I, and Triple I.

Etymology

The building looks like the letter I. There are three wings - two long and one at the middle. It can be modular by connecting another or two more I blocks. This gave birth of Double I and Triple I.

Naming

Unlike other blocks, Double I blocks are only given one name. Such examples include Mei Fung House in Mei Lam Estate and Shek To House in Shek Wai Kok Estate.

History

The first I blocks was completed in 1981, located at Sun Tin Wai Estate. (Shing Wai House, Foo Wai House, Yan Wai House, Fung Wai House, Wing Wai House) The first Double I buildings are located at Shun Tin Estate, completed about the same as shown above. The last I blocks to be built are located at Chak On Estate, completed in 1983.

Overview

Usually, the height of I blocks may vary. (14-21 stories) Only medium and large units are provided inside the block. (32-39 sqm) Therefore, in public housing estates, it is built with Old Slab to balance the size of units.

Due to the I block taking a lot of space and units focusing on only one size, the I block was stopped being built in future projects. Therefore, few currently have I blocks as of today.

• Single I: Single I block contains 27 units per floor.
• Double I: Double I block contains 54 units per floor.
• Triple I: Triple I block contains 81 units per floor.

List of blocks

The I blocks take up a large amount of space. Therefore, most are found in the new towns of Sha Tin, Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, and Tsuen Wan.

District	Estate	Stories	Units per floor	Completed	Notes
Sham Shui Po	Chak On Estate	14	27	1983	Last I block in Hong Kong.
	Lai Kok Estate	14	81（27x3 blocks）	1981	Triple I (given one name)
Kwun Tong	Kai Yip Estate	14
	Shun Tin Estate	21	54（27x2）		Double I block (one name)
Tsuen Wan	Shek Wai Kok Estate	21	54	1982
Sha Tin	Mei Lam Estate			1981	First Double I block in Hong Kong.
	Sun Tin Wai Estate	21×5	27×5		Location of the first I blocks in Hong Kong.
Total：12 houses (18 blocks)

See also

• Types of public housing estate blocks in Hong Kong
• H Block (Hong Kong)